Feed aggregator

Clue #1

So after a year, the hunt is now here.

The realm of Ramsey is the place to seek.

No need to search all, just stick to St. Paul.

You’ll get warmer by the end of the week.

 

The Allison Wonderland Mock Hunt has always been in St. Paul. The rules even say it is in St. Paul. So the mention of Ramsey should have seemed curious. In this case Ramsey refers to Alexander Ramsey and more specifically his daughter Marion Ramsey Furness who would have been “in his realm”. She is the person the park was named for, and a furnace (Furness) will make you warm. Also, when it says “the hunt is now here”, the word “here” is in the upper right corner of the clue just as the park is in the upper right corner of St. Paul.

 

Clue #2

Back when it was new there was a lake view

Not far from where the treasure is hidden.

It is not there still, instead there’s a hill

And any entry is now forbidden.

 

This clue is referring to the Hillcrest Golf Course which partially borders the park and is still relatively close at the hiding spot. It was originally called the Lakeview Golf Course before becoming Hillcrest. The golf course is now permanently closed so entry is not allowed.

 

Clue #3

If your detection needs some direction

You’ll find North and South are likely the best.

Certainly not least, a good dose of East

However, there’s a distinct lack of West

 

Furness Park runs between North Hayden Heights and South Hayden Heights, Also, it is on the East side of St. Paul and is bordered by Furness Parkway and East Furness Parkway. So plenty of East but no West.

 

Clue #4

It is on the whole a good place to stroll

And two may part ways saying, “Good day then!”

But one won’t get far, finding it bizarre,

“How have I run into you yet again!?”

 

This clue refers to the fact that the park is part of a walking trail but also specifically the fact that the pathways continually separate into two and then come together again at each street making for a distinctive pattern.

 

Clue #5

The park’s not confined, or its edge defined

By a single street marking each border.

If you cross any, you might cross many

So watching where you step is in order.

 

This is mostly just letting you know that the park spans multiple blocks and is divided into sections by cross streets. Also, “Any” could also be taken as NE which is the abbreviation for Nebraska. If you cross Nebraska Ave., you’re on the wrong end of the park and will have to cross several streets to get to the right end. Watching where you step alludes to the medallion being on the ground.

 

Clue #6

It’s a good measure when seeking treasure

To just have a sixth sense about the clue.

Morse is not the mode, but mos def a code

Where breaking it is not the thing to do.

 

“A Sixth Sense” is a reference to Bruce Willis who starred in the movie “The Sixth Sense”. “Morse” alludes to David Morse and “mos def” is of course Mos Def. All three starred in a movie called “16 Blocks” where a cop deciding if he was going to do what was right, or keep the “cop code” was a main theme. The Furness Trail is 16 blocks long.

 

Clue #7

As you search about, or maybe just scout

You can see both the forest and the trees.

And it might surprise that the treasure lies

Where it’s always seventy-two degrees.

“The trees” just refers to there being trees in the park, lots of different kinds. “The forest” refers to Sherwood which is one of the cross streets in the park. The two Furness Parkways that mainly define the park run at a 72 degree angle.

 

Clue #8

It might help to know far as landmarks go

Nothing involving water is in play.

A bench over there, a big rock somewhere

But a beloved street does point the way.

 

This clue is mostly straightforward. There is no body of water in or next to the park. The main landmarks are a large rock and a couple of benches. It does vaguely hint that the bench you want is not the one by the rock. The tricky part of the clue is the beloved street which is David St. to the north as the name David means “Beloved”. David St. points pretty much right at the treasure.

 

Clue #9

This may set off sparks, when it comes to parks,

But the treasure’s home failed to make the list.

Yet the park lays claim to a worthy name

And a plaque asserts its right to exist.

 

If you go to the St. Paul Parks & Rec website and look for a list of St. Paul parks, Furness Park is not on that list. Nor is it in any version of The Treasure Hunter’s Guide. But Google Maps says it is a park. And in the park itself, there is a large rock with a plaque that says you are in Furness Park, named for Marion Ramsey Furness.

 

Clue #10

Just to verify, I must clarify

The treasure is where streets are on each side.

No need to dally where there’s an alley;

Didn’t want to take a chance on this hide.

 

Of the 16 blocks of the Furness Trail, half are entirely bordered by streets and the other half are bordered by other things, so that narrows it down by half. Of the remaining eight blocks, the northern four, by Nevada (“Didn’t want to take a chance”) and the southern one, all have alleys that run into the park. So that just leaves a three block search area.

 

Clue #11

Two sons were buried, his daughter married,

In the Governor’s mansion she did stay,

Now a parkway’s name remembers her fame.

At the park? Then this clue’s a throwaway.

 

If you hadn’t found the park yet, this clue is specifically the story of Alexander Ramsey and his daughter Marion Ramsey Furness. If you were already at the park, “throwaway” suggests to look on the block with the garbage can.

 

Clue #12

If you’re still unclear the treasure is near

The Beloved Church up in the corner.

Trek to the southwest to where you can rest

In a divot, leaves are the adorner.

 

Being “unclear” suggests that you can fix that by going to Clear Ave. If you still don’t know the park, look for the Beloved Church in the NE corner of the city. Then walk southwest to where the bench is. The medallion is near there in a divot covered with leaves.

So it was found by Josh Ellingson working with Todd Pittman. Both of them have found the AW Mock Hunt medallion in the past. Both were registered hunters so they will get the full $300 prize plus the souvenir medallion. Josh said he hadn't been to Furness Park before, but was aware of it and recognized it in the clues. Furness Park isn't listed as a park on the St. Paul Parks & Rec website, nor is it in the Treasure Hunter's Guide, so experience and knowledge of the city seems to have paid off here. The treasure was hidden in a small divot in the ground with some leaves on it just a bit north of Clear Ave. 

I had certainly hoped the hunt would last longer, but I also feel people should have a shot at finding it from the first clue, so this at least proves that it is possible to win if you crack the clues early. So congratulations again to Josh and Todd. Next up will be the clue explanations.

Medallion Found!   I really didn't think anyone would get to the right park for at least a few days yet but Josh Ellingson cracked the cryptic clues and just found the Allison Wonderland Medallion at Furness Park up in the NE corner of St. Paul. More details to come!

I just noticed a slight error in today's clue. There should be a question mark and closing quotation at the end so it should read as follows:

Clue #4 It is on the whole a good place to stroll And two may part ways saying, “Good day then!” But one won’t get far, finding it bizarre, “How have I run into you yet again!?"

Hunt Registration has ended. The prize has been updated to $300 and a souvenir medallion for registered hunters and $100 and a souvenir medallion for unregistered hunters. 

Here is the new clue:

Clue #4 It is on the whole a good place to stroll And two may part ways saying, “Good day then!” But one won’t get far, finding it bizarre, “How have I run into you yet again!   And the previous clues:   Clue #3 If your detection needs some direction You’ll find North and South are likely the best. Certainly not least, a good dose of East However, there’s a distinct lack of West  
Clue #2 Back when it was new there was a lake view Not far from where the treasure is hidden. It is not there still, instead there’s a hill And any entry is now forbidden.  
Clue #1 So after a year, the hunt is now here. The realm of Ramsey is the place to seek. No need to search all, just stick to St. Paul. You’ll get warmer by the end of the week.

It looks like as of this moment I have 22 people registered for the 2022 Allison Wonderland Mock Hunt. That being the case, I will bump up the prize to $300 and add one of these Allison Wonderland Mock Hunt Medallions in addition to the cash prize. Thanks to Ed Brodie and Ken Ng for designing it. Non-registered hunters can still win $100 but will also get the medallion.   If you would still like to register, you have until 5pm today to either send me the money by Paylpal at AllisonWondrland@... or let me know that you would like to and we can make another arrangement if need be.   If you are a past winner of the Allison Wonderland Mock Hunt and you would like one of these for your collection, let me know and you can buy one for $20. I'll subsidize the rest of it and get a group order together.

The Hunt is on! Registration ends tomorrow at 5pm!

Here is the new clue:

Clue #3 If your detection needs some direction You’ll find North and South are likely the best. Certainly not least, a good dose of East However, there’s a distinct lack of West     And the previous clues:   Clue #2 Back when it was new there was a lake view Not far from where the treasure is hidden. It is not there still, instead there’s a hill And any entry is now forbidden.  
Clue #1 So after a year, the hunt is now here. The realm of Ramsey is the place to seek. No need to search all, just stick to St. Paul. You’ll get warmer by the end of the week.

The Hunt is on!

Here is the new clue:   Clue #2 Back when it was new there was a lake view Not far from where the treasure is hidden. It is not there still, instead there’s a hill And any entry is now forbidden.   And the previous clue:   Clue #1 So after a year, the hunt is now here. The realm of Ramsey is the place to seek. No need to search all, just stick to St. Paul. You’ll get warmer by the end of the week.

The Allison Wonderland Mock Hunt has begun! Here is Clue #1. You can still register until the release of the 4th clue. And remember we are meeting at Joseph's Grill at 7pm tonight if you want to join us.   So after a year, the hunt is now here. The realm of Ramsey is the place to seek. No need to search all, just stick to St. Paul. You’ll get warmer by the end of the week.

I know it's been quiet around here lately, but things are about to get going again for a while as the 2022 Allison Wonderland Mock Hunt is imminent. In fact, the first clue will be posted today at 5pm. As usual, the hunt will run for up to 12 clues or until found with each clue being released at 5pm. It will be hidden on public land in St. Paul. It will not be on a body of water, up a tree, indoors, on a roof, inside something electrical, on a steep hillside or anywhere else that would make you wonder if looking there might be a bad idea.

You can register for the hunt up until the release of the 4th clue for $10. If you do, you are entitled to the full $250 prize (maybe more depending on the number of registrations). You can also hunt for free and win $100. You can send the money to me via Paypal at AllisonWondrland@.... We're also having a gathering at Joseph's Grill tonight at 7pm where you can drop it off. You can also contact me for alternate payment methods.

The medallion is already out there somewhere. Now we're just waiting for someone to find it!

Yeah, 2008 was bad and then they pinpointed it off in the 11th clue. For the last 6 years or so, I've been convinced the PP has a database of clues 2-5 that are designed to generally fit near the river and then they are tweaked a bit to fit the specific location the medallion is hidden in.  I think the strategy really avoids an early find like in 2007 or 2015. If you think it is hidden near the river, your instincts take you away from places like White Bear or New Brighton. With how unique a park like Silverwood is, we should have all known it was there a lot sooner.  

Oh, I hated those 2003 clues. Worst ones ever except maybe for 2008 I think it was, the year it was at Indian Mounds.

I thought the same thing as David. I figured it was off of the path and across the street from the Forest Bathing Trail, and that they would explain the "far away" piece just meaning it was not hidden off of that specific path or trail. I keep on thinking they are going to hide it in the woods again, like when they started that pattern in 2003 at Como, which had the most misleading clue in history in my opinion: "Standing here, you can see, so clear A view of our Capitol dome." 

Okay.  I'm starting to taste the sour grapes now.  That bout with the "Invisible Enemy' 5 weeks ago must have messed with my sensory faculties.  Have you any cheese to go with my whine?  I'll stop now.  Happy Trails to all!

Just a couple random thoughts:-the distance to the forest bath trail was by far the most controversial clue from what I’ve heard.  I just wanted to note that the clue is “far from the path that leads TO the bath” - so this is actually the path to the beginning of the trail in my opinion which is closer to the park entrance and not the one across the street from the lot.  Not a massive difference in distance but I think it holds some significance-agree in general clue 9 was not great but talking to the finders at the park they seemed to think this clue confirmed their spot for multiple reasons, including tempo=flow (overflow lot), and “take a break” = park aka parking lot.  Whether or not that was the intent of the clue it’s hard to argue that it didn’t do it’s job!
Fun hunt all around this year, was great to see so many people in Silverwood over the weekend of clues 6-8.  See you all next year!

Maybe I'm just more used to it, like the time it was at Cherokee and they said the treasure was "due east" of something when it was actually due south. I have to admit, when I saw it say far from the trail, my first thought was "so probably not very far from the trail".
Clue 9 was largely indecipherable except for that I know of one person who did, and she is even in this group (Jennifer). But Clue 9 is almost always really hard and generally useless if you already know the park. So again, maybe I'm just used to it and am judging it on a curve.

If you managed to finish, then you didn't start too late! I'm glad you enjoyed it. There is a certain worry about making the puzzles too hard, but at the same time you have to push people to their limit sometimes to give them maximum satisfaction at completing them. In the end, only 8 teams managed to get them all. I'm hoping to do it again next year.

I respectfully disagree.  You question the use of "fresh." I object to the use of "park" to reference a parking area; and not even an actual defined lot. 
The explanation for Clue #3 absolutely does not direct the reader to the hiding spot, which is practically adjacent to the forest bath trail and not at all FAR from it.  It is misleading at best; a flat out lie at worst.
And tell me that even an accomplished clue-writing savant like yourself could ever decipher Clue 9  That one is just a ridiculous waste of vowels and consonants.  

We did the East Wind hunt this year, I think we waited a little too long before starting since we were wrapped up in the Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt. We did finish just under the gun. I just wanted to to tell you that it was quite the puzzler and it took all four of our brains to figure it out, but it was really fun, so thank you for taking the time to do these scavenger hunts.
Sent from my T-Mobile 5G Device
Get Outlook for Android

I often feel that way, though not as much this year as others. The clue explanations never seem as comprehensive as they should be. I do think it's possible that people find things the cluewriter didn't intend because that has happened to me in my hunts. But I refuse to believe that they just happened to pick the word "fresh" to refer to a park remodel. But otherwise, even if incomplete, the explanations generally mesh with what people thought the clues meant at the end which I consider to be a good sign.